Kiss me
by TheIncarnation
Summary: This is an ongoing fanfic. Kate meets the Rani and they form something more. Edit on Tumblr to celebrate both this fic and my 100th post.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, so first Kate/Rani fic. Depending on the reviews I might make it into a series. Enjoy!**

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><p>To everybody else, Kate Stewart was an ordinary woman; she got up early, walked to Saint Pancras; got a coffee at King's Cross; got on the tube again then went to the tower. If anyone hadn't seen her before they would have thought that she was a tourist, if they had however, they just thought she worked there. To some extent that was true. Head of Scientific Research at UNIT wasn't easy, being in charge wasn't easy, but somehow she kept up the facade that masked her despair! She longed for contact. Everyone on the inside saw her as a superior, pretty unapproachable really, or as a counsellor.<p>

Today was no different, Friday morning. Ten to six, Kate stepped out onto the Midland Road and made her way to the little cafe in Saint Pancras got her usual coffee and croissant before heading to the circle line to stand on the tube for about thirteen minutes, really having a UNIT pass made commuting a whole load cheaper. She did have an Oyster Card but really she preferred to keep that for personal use. She'd stay on until Tower Hill before getting off and heading in to work, Kate would see two more officers get on near South Kensington. They would avoid getting on her carriage, she seemed to emit a signal to the lowers to stay away. It was her routine, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. She had been doing it for 9 years and hadn't had a day off since then.

But then everything changed when she went into work on that Friday, Osgood wasn't there, she phoned in an hour after she should have been in.  
>"Kate," she had said, "I am so so so sorry, I've got this flu thing and I didn't want to pass it on."<br>She sounded panicked.  
>"Inhaler!" Kate told her, relieved when she heard Osgood's sigh.<br>"I'm so sorry Kate," she kept repeating.  
>"It's okay Osgood, you take as much time as you need. Get it out of your system then I'll see you when you're better. Alright?"<br>"Alright. It won't be too long, I promise."  
>"Try get some rest."<br>She hung up, sighing and sitting back down at her desk. Osgood was much like her, she came in all the time and didn't really get ill at all. The young girl was prone to panic and asthma attacks, but never had a reason to stay off; Kate made a mental note to check up on her occasionally. She picked up the phone again,  
>"Malcolm."<br>"Yes Ma'am."  
>"Check the ravens batteries," she commanded him, trying to cut the conversation as short as she could.<br>"Yes Ma'am. Is Osgood not in today?"  
>Angrily, she hung up on him, the stress of the job must have been getting to her. But to be fair, nobody had time for Malcolm's drivel. Ever. Then, Kate heard the unmistakeable landing sound coming from just ahead of her, she looked up, terrified of what new dangers the Doctor may bring. But it wasn't the familiar blue police box that turned up. A smoking cupboard lay, propped against the wall in the corner of her office. Reaching into the first draw in her desk, she drew the small, loaded pistol and slipped it into her pocket, her hand still lay on the trigger and she approached the cupboard. Kate knocked softly on the door and then at the lack of response she nudged the door open cautiously, revealing a brunette. But the second she had opened the cupboard, the woman slumped to the ground at Kate's feet. It took a second for who the woman must have been to register in Kate's mind. The only people she had met who could travel like that were time lords. Then she realised that the Doctor had saved them all less than a year ago, but if they were trapped then how did this one get out. She felt the strangers heart, then found her other one, gasping in relief. As gently as she could, Kate moved her into her chair and moved to her door; she paused for a second then decided to lock it.<br>"Well, well, well. Earth, 2015. This is the Doctor's territory," the woman spoke, her voice accented in a way that sent a tingle down Kate's spine.  
>"The Tower of London."<br>"Got a problem with humans?" Kate asked sarcasm running through her voice.  
>"Why am I not in a cell?"<br>"You haven't committed a crime," she said simply, "Besides with just me here, nobody would really care if anything did happen."  
>"You mean if I wanted to do anything I could?"<br>"Well, no."  
>"Name?"<br>"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," she said almost flirtatiously.  
>"The Rani. Time Lord, not that I'd expect you to know what I am."<br>"Kate Stewart. How did you get out of Gallifrey?"  
>The Rani took note of the badge on Kate's wall,<br>"UNIT. Why?"  
>Kate's eyes narrowed, clearly she hated the Doctor. Although maybe that wasn't a bad thing. Then she indicated the corner,<br>"Your TARDIS."  
>"Fuck," she swore angrily...<p>

And that was how everything had started, they had formed a pattern for the Rani. They would meet for lunch, where Kate would listen to the Rani as she worked out a formulae in a little notebook. The Time Lady had decided to give her a chance, try some human stuff (furthering her education) and really she did need Kate for a place to stay and food to eat. It was at one dinner, about a week and a half since their meeting, when the Rani spoke over their usually silent meal.  
>"I should say thank you, Stewart."<br>"But you're not going to," Kate said, half jokingly, half seriously.  
>"I am. I really do appreciate it."<br>"What else would I do? You can't just stay on the street."  
>"You could have made me. What is it you liked about me?"<br>"I," Kate struggled to come up with words to cover the real reason.  
>"Look at you Stewart. Head of UNIT, failing to come up with words."<br>She took Kate's hand, apparently unsure of human standards, then kissed it. Kate tried not to blush but knew that her cheeks must be crimson, just because the Rani's lips brushing against her smooth skin was so peaceful in a way.  
>"That's the wrong thing isn't it?"<br>"It's okay."  
>The rest of their meal was consumed in silence, the Rani stared at her curiously; practically unblinking. She was unabashedly staring. Yet, Kate still didn't dare tell her, she pretended not to have noticed and continued eating her lasagne. The Rani picked at hers, trying to avoid most of the mince. Kate smiled to herself as she saw. When she finished she got up and took both of their plates over to her sink where she stood for a moment before turning on the tap. She washed up quietly then left the dishes to drain.<br>"You alright Stewart?"  
>"Yeah," she said, voice dead.<br>"I've been thinking about it for a while, I want to apply for a job," the Rani told her.  
>"I thought you'd have wanted to be gone as soon as you could," Kate pointed out.<br>"An experiment? See what humans are like, you have a year at least," she said.  
>"Me?" Kate asked.<br>"Providing you don't mind me being here. I can pay rent if you need?"  
>"No, I don't think that'll be necessary, besides, you're keeping me sane. You know nine years with little friendly-" she amended the statement, "Intelligent contact."<br>"I'm not going to be an acquaintance Stewart."  
>"I thought you didn't do friends."<br>"All humans have friends right?"  
>"Most."<br>"Most?"  
>"Some can't, you know, jobs and the likes."<br>"So then Stewart, what do you say?" The Rani smirked, knowing her answer already.  
>"Alright, but if I don't like it, it's stopping."<br>"I"m a woman of my word, Stewart, I thought you'd have known that by now.  
>"And the first thing; you can stop calling me that."<br>"Kate," she said, orotund.  
>A faint smile appeared on her lips and the other woman rested her chin on her knuckles.<p>

A few days later, the Rani was stood in her new lab at London HQ, over a rack of test tubes. A sharp knock on the door made her turn rapidly,  
>"Stewart."<br>"I thought we were a bit past surnames," the blonde said warningly.  
>The Rani decided to ignore this comment, turning back to her experiment, she picked up the first test tube, then placed it onto a separate rack.<br>"New leads?"  
>"I've only just started analysing this," she said shortly, punctuating the last word by dripping some Universal Indicator into the tube of colourless liquid.<br>She jumped back as the reaction seemed a lot bigger than usual, it fizzed and she backed away, pausing to grab a control on the desk.  
>"Kate, get everyone out of here," she shouted.<br>Kate found her hand slamming down, breaking through the glass on the corridor fire alarm. The piercing sound of the siren wailed and she too started to move. Then her eyes met the Rani's body, she was on the floor!  
>"Rani?" she cupped her face in her hands.<br>"Get out..." she fell unconscious...

In one swift motion, she took the control from her hand and housed it in her blazer's inside pocket before picking the Rani up in a fireman's lift. She obeyed and made her way towards her exit. She didn't stop until she reached the gathering point where all the soldiers were lined in formation and Malcolm was stood trying to comfort a crying Osgood.  
>"She's still in there," she was saying.<br>"I'm sure it's just a drill," he said.  
>"It's not a drill," Kate said as she came out of the building, "I want the area sealed off, keep the public away."<br>She nodded to the General, several men jogged off.  
>"All personnel present. What the bloody hell is going on?"<br>"Dangerous chemical reacted badly."  
>Half of Kate thought that the next thing she would see would be half of their base blown to smithereens, half wondering what chemical it was for the Rani to be affected.<br>"I'll take care of her Ma'am," a medic said indicating the Rani's body from where Kate knelt next to her on the ground.  
>"No, I think you'll find you won't be."<br>"Ma'am?"  
>"Jog on."<br>"Kate!" Osgood's arms flung around her, "I was so scared and I feared the worst."  
>The girl sniffed and cried into her boss' arms,<br>"Inhaler Osgood."  
>Gently, Kate rested her arm on the girls back and rubbed in long, slow circles,<br>"I'm sorry I scared you. I'm touched that you care so much."  
>"You're the closest thing I have to a friend, I know I'm just a burden."<br>"Listen to me Osgood," Kate's tone was forceful, she took the girls face in her hands, "Never say that. You are not a burden, you are great! And I am a friend, for as long as you want. You, Osgood, are young; you have your whole life and you are going to eat the world. You are amazing!"

It was only later when the boys had finished sealing off the area and shooed the public from the tourist destination, that the General approached her again,  
>"You know, it's not wise to inspire false hope, if she left she'd end up in the gutter."<br>Kate looked up then, ready to strangle the bastard to his unfortunate death.  
>"Yeah, well you're wrong," by now any sane person would have run ten miles in the opposite direction at the venomous look in Kate's eye, "Speaking of gutters, I'm promoting Warrant Officer Hart. Leaving you in the gutter, you're gone, pack your bags and leave this site, if you are ever back..."<br>"Ever back what?"  
>"I won't have any qualms about letting Malcolm set up the automated laser monkey's from the Black Archive."<br>She smirked as he stalked off, fuming.

So there Kate was, sat next to the Rani in her bedroom. She stared down at the fragile form of the once glorious time lady. She started to get up to leave, but felt a hand close around her wrist.  
>"Hey," Kate cooed.<br>"What happened?" the Rani gasped.  
>"A chemical reacted the Universal Indicator, base got blown up."<br>"But, my TARDIS?"  
>"I figured the only reason you picked up this," she indicated the remote laying on the bedside cabinet, "Was something to do with it."<br>"Well at least now I have a matrix remote, I'll gave to start rebuilding it."  
>"Oh, Rani, you really didn't pay attention did you," she smiled at her companions affronted look, "We are INTELLIGENCE TASKFORCE."<br>"And?"  
>"We aren't primitive apes."<br>"You?"  
>"In my kitchen."<br>"Thank you," she said kissing Kate's hand yet again, "That's not right is it?"  
>"It doesn't matter Rani," Kate chuckled, "This all seems familiar to me somehow."<br>"Well, you are teaching me about humanity," The Rani said, slowly pressing her lips down again.  
>She pulled Kate down onto the bed, then whispered gently in her ear,<br>"And for the record, I didn't mean friends."  
>Kate opened her mouth to speak but found no words. Then, suddenly she found herself have a surge of courage and kissed the Rani.<br>"I've been wanting to do that for a long time," Kate told her.  
>Quickly, she got up, unknowing of the reaction. Yet again she was pulled back down onto the bed and found herself being kissed back. A mental panic ran through her as the other woman's tongue pressed up against her lips, she opened them, allowing the Time Lady dominance. A hand, softer than she had expected for that of a biochemist, cupped her cheek, she felt the second at her hip. With no sign of slowing down, she hooked her thumbs into the Rani's jeans and pulled her in further. They pulled apart.<br>"Kate."  
>"Rani," Kate breathed.<br>"I want this."  
>"Yes."<br>Kate's hand ran under The Rani's borrowed grey shirt, she placed them on her stomach, feeling the nice smooth skin. In turn her partners flew to her shirts buttons and gently undid the first three, revealing a modest amount of cleavage, she dipped down for a not entirely chaste kiss... Kate breathed out as her tongue flicked gently.

Morning came a little too quickly in Kate's opinion, she woke abruptly to the feeling of a warm body against hers and an arm mantled over her half-clothed body, it had been so many years since she had woken up as content as she was now. But the peace was to last for a lot longer, the Rani was asleep for a while then, her face relaxed and peaceful, she could feel the soft skin against her. Taking tremendous care not to wake her, she gently planted one hand on her waist and kissed her cheek, to gently remind her that she was still there, she forced herself to get up and walk to her bathroom. She paused to check the time on her phone, six. The heavy patter of rain beat against her window and she noticed a text from Osgood.  
>'When are we going back in? Check the news at six."<br>She smiled and walked into her bathroom, turning on the radio softly so as to not wake the woman who currently slumbered in her crimson sheeted double bed. She slipped and shimmy out of her remaining garments. The blonde stepped turned the shower on, allowing it to run for a bit before stepping in and enjoying the sensation of the hot water slipping down her body, easing the sore muscles from the working week and last night's activities.  
>"And over to you at the Tower of London."<br>"Shit!"

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><p><strong>There, longest fanfiction I have written in a while. I'm so proud of this. Check out my Tumblr for an edit that goes with this fanfic, it will apply more to the next chapter but I am celebrating my 100th post now. <strong>

**I hope you enjoyed this, please review if you liked it, favourite and follow both this story and me for more like this.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well done to all of you who noticed my Paternoster Gang Easter Eggs in the last chapter! I think you can tell why I am writing this before the Season Eight finale. Obviously I don't know what is going to happen to Kate and Osgood so I thought it would be better to get it in before say someone died, so it seemed less loose on the cannon base; yes I do realise that the Rani meeting Kate is very loosely cannon based.**

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><p>"Sounds like the press got hold of what happened then," the Rani prompted, making Kate jump.<br>"Rani, morning. How are you?" Kate asked, half sarcastically, half sincere.  
>"A lot better now I've seen you."<br>She moved towards the shower, joining the blonde within seconds after her previous statement.  
>"And Miss Stewart, you should be more careful about current affairs," the Rani punctuated that with a playful slap to Kate's ass and running her teeth against the soft flesh of Kate's neck.<br>Watching, amused, as Kate tipped her head back- moaning softly- she smiled properly.  
>"Last night," she breathed, "Was that a one night thing?"<br>"Not unless you want it to be," was the brunettes smug reply.

"We need to come up with some rules."  
>"Rules?" Kate asked abruptly.<br>"Guidelines really. I'm not spending as long in bed as that everyday and I don't need nearly as much sleep as your primitive race does," she told her.  
>"Rule two, if you insult my race then bloody expect to be sleeping on the floor next to my bed, begging everyday," Kate snapped angrily, "You may have superior body systems and be more socially advanced than us but we do have the tendency to become quite volatile when insulted."<br>"I thought we said they were guidelines Stewart."  
>"We are a bit beyond surnames."<br>"Our private life stays private."  
>"Yes," Kate breathed heavily, a husky tone somewhere in the mix.<br>Suddenly, they were both leaning in, the Rani's hand resting on Kate's cheek and hers at the Time Ladies hip. It felt so natural. They shared a chaste kiss, before the Rani decided that chaste was boring and slipped a hand downwards to lie on Kate's breast, before her lips met Kate's earlobe. A piercing sound broke the moment, Kate's ringtone.  
>"Aren't you going to answer that?" the Rani said amused.<br>"Let it ring."  
>"Even if it's Osgood."<br>"I said let it ring."  
>"Yes mistress," she said.<br>"You'd like that?" Kate raised an eyebrow.  
>"There are a lot of things I like."<br>"Go on," Kate asked.  
>"You."<br>With one flourishing movement, Kate had the unsuspecting Time Lady pressed firmly onto the table, looming over her and kissing her again softly.

The rest of the drizzly day was spent lounging around in Kate's lounge, curled up on the sofa, spooning, swapping positions every now and then. They seemed so normal for a while, the only thing out of place was the Rani's clothing. She had clung onto her leggings and reluctantly put on one of Kate's casual sweaters. Soon, Kate realised that this was weird to the Rani too,  
>"You've warmed up a lot since I first met you."<br>"I'm a quick learner."  
>"Rani?"<br>"Hmm..."  
>"Have you done anything like this before?" her heart got the better of her.<br>"No," her tone was suddenly cold, bitter and twisted.  
>"I'm sorry, that was insensitive."<br>"Nothing like this has ever happened to me. I had no romantic involvement or interaction on Gallifrey or any other planet. I distanced myself so far, science-"  
>"Leads," Kate finished for her.<br>"What?" the Rani asked incredulously.  
>"Something the Doctor told my dad."<br>"Bumbling idiot. You never talk about your family," she pointed out after the quick insult to her fellow Time Lord.  
>"There's not much to say. Anyway, it's not of any value," Kate brushed the comment off.<br>"Tell me."  
>"Mum left dad when she found out about UNIT. Then left me when I didn't marry Gordon's father. Dad was there, until the end. And Doris, his new wife. But they got old and you know..." she gave a nonchalant shrug then let a tear slip.<br>However, the Rani didn't reply, she turned over until Kate was pressed against the back of the sofa and in her arms, which were placed awkwardly over the shuddering blondes back. The afternoon gradually wore on, passing in near silence; Kate managed to stop crying eventually and lose herself in the arms of the older woman.

Together, they watched London become dark around them, the distant skyline more attractive than the Rani had noticed before, Kate really had one of the best flats in the city. They could see the occasional red bus and taxi lights, hear the hundreds of people rushing about-commuters and party-goers alike. Before, the Rani never had much time for Earth, unless it proved useful to her experiments; the planet of the human race, the Silurians before the great early adopters. They were primitive to her, worthless, yet somehow her TARDIS had crashed here, by choice. Possibly because it was a safe place, people would ask questions, but never have the guts to finish her off. But why had she landed in the office of head of science at the Doctor fan club? It couldn't possibly be coincidence, but she didn't have the time for that, she had to focus on the woman who's head rested on her shoulder. Could it possibly be? She had fallen in love...with a human! She had barely known the other woman for a month, yet she could feel a connection and one she had never felt with a member of her own species at that. Could her TARDIS be deciding her fate?  
>"Rani. Are you okay?" Kate's voice brought her away from her speculations.<br>"I'm fine, just thinking," a faint smile appeared across Kate's lips.  
>"I'll order food," she said, slowly getting up.<br>"Kate," she looked up, "I love you."  
>The smile would stay for days.<p>

"Did you mean it?" Kate asked over dinner.  
>"Course I did," the Rani replied.<br>"We've only known each other a month," pointed out Kate.  
>"My TARDIS must have brought me here for a reason. Besides, somehow you care. You could have let me be put into a hospital, you could have had be banged up in a prison cell," the Rani informed.<br>"Say it again."  
>"I love you, Kate Stewart. You're the first, the only."<br>Damn, humanity was making her go soft.  
>"I love you."<br>The Rani smiled. With sincerity.

"Kate! I know it's only been a day. But I thought you'd be in. Everyone else is, I just want to know you're okay. You haven't picked up your phone-" it was clear Osgood was panicking.  
>She listened to the voicemail several times, running her hands through her blonde hair and looking back down at the draft of a press release she had been writing up. The public had been begging for answers, she didn't know how to word the fact that there was a severe tremor yesterday caused by an unknown chemical in a secret underground lab beneath the Tower of London.<br>"Say it was a curse, everyone will believe that," the Rani smirked as she ran her hands along Kate's shoulders and back.  
>"What are you doing?"<br>"Stress goes straight to the spine. I do know enough biology."  
>"Are you just doing this to get me back into bed?"<br>"Why would I do that?"  
>"Hmm, let me think...you want me again?"<br>"You have that effect on me, anyway it was actually innocent, I just want to calm you."  
>"It's just this report. I can't tell people what went on, but I can't lie completely."<br>"Just ignore the press. If they can't get a story, then they'll bugger off."  
>"Then I've got to call Osgood. She tried twice on the hour every hour."<br>"I though should be able to cope on their own."  
>"Osgood?" Kate asked, "We've had to coach her out of three mental breakdowns and stop her from fainting whenever she meets someone even remotely connected to the Doctor."<br>"And that must be every day seeing as she works for the unofficial Doctor fan club. You're wasted there."  
>"Where else is there a job with the chance to look into science of extra terrestrial beings?"<br>The Rani sat.  
>"I'll call Osgood, then I'm off to bed Rani."<br>"I'll join you."  
>Kate dialed Osgood's number as the brunette walked towards the main bedroom,<br>"Kate! I'm so glad to hear from you. Are you okay?"  
>"I'm fine Osgood. How did the press find out about what happened? I've been hounded with calls."<br>"I'm not sure, but Malcolm thinks that the old General is out for revenge, I didn't know you could fire him. Science over military."  
>"I reformed UNIT, I think it's safe to say that I can."<br>"How did they get your number then?"  
>"I don't know, but everything happened at once. Almost like the cubes."<br>"Cubes?"  
>"Oh, you weren't at UNIT then. Do you remember the year when millions of black cubes came in overnight?"<br>"The year of the slow invasion?"  
>"That is what it was officially called, yes."<br>"Are you coming in tomorrow?"  
>"Yes," she went to hang up, "Osgood, lunch tomorrow?"<br>"Yeah sure."  
>She was sure she could hear the sound of an inhaler.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**The last chapter, as I am well aware, is a little out of character; to make the Rani seem more adaptable I did that so Kate wouldn't just be an arguing hot mess.**

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><p>True to her word, when the clock struck twelve, Kate walked into the small lab in which Osgood was stood at a chalkboard.<br>"Results?" Kate asked, although she was the Chief, she didn't really look into what experiments Osgood and Malcolm conducted in their free time.  
>"Yes," Osgood said, "I'll be ready in a moment, sorry. There hasn't been much in a while and we started seeing what equipment needed repairs."<br>"Take all the time you need," Kate said.  
>"Where are we going?" Osgood asked as she put the chalk down on the bench at long last.<br>"Italian alright?" Kate asked, thinking of the place in Docklands.  
>"Sure."<p>

Within minutes, Osgood had discarded her lab coat and the pair were walking out of the Tower, like old friends instead of colleagues. Tourists were surrounding them, blissfully unaware of the fact they were standing on a military base. They pushed through the crowds until they reached the tube station. The journey was short thankfully, the carriages all packed and Kate found herself pressed up against Osgood- uncomfortably close really. Osgood hadn't seemed to notice and her eyes were closed peacefully. For a while Kate wondered if the girl had fallen asleep, but when they got to their stop, she opened her eyes and got off with her. They walked a short while until they were at the place Kate had spoken about. They sat at a small table in a secluded corner, Osgood saw the candle that the waitress had hastily put on the table and raised an eyebrow.  
>"Kate, is this a date?"<br>"No! Far from it, but that is the reason we're here," she said, "I wanted to talk to you."  
>"Good, is it bad that I feel like this is the scene in Sherlock when Watson is assumed to be Sherlock's boyfriend?"<br>Kate sniggered and put down her menu...

Meanwhile, back at London HQ, the Rani was hunched over a neat little table. Having just entered the lab just off of Kate's office, she had gazed at the test results Osgood had been recording and since she had nothing better to do, started writing them up. It was far beyond what she thought humans could do, but she sighed when she saw what the formulae was for- controlled hacking. She looked through a file that was left open on the desk. The Rani couldn't disguise her curiosity and started making amends to a rough graph that was drawn up. Although she had no time for the other humans, she knew that it would add to her investigation of planet Earth. That and Kate seemed to speak quite highly of this woman. The Time Lady hadn't personally met her, but knew that among the staff, she was one of the more inimitable of the scientists. She took a page from her own notebook and left a little note on the workbench:_ Added to graph, results show wrong variables. What's this for? Rani._

"Again this is probably just me being slow, but, you're dating an off-world woman who is far more advanced and highly superior?" Osgood asked.  
>"Yes," Kate said simply.<br>"And she works at UNIT," Osgood said after swallowing a mouthful of pasta.  
>"It's complicated."<br>"I should think so," Osgood said, "Well, congratulations, I suppose."  
>"Is it?" Kate asked, "It's more one sided. Oh, what have I done? I've fallen in love with a hypocritical, self-opinionated alien."<br>"Something is keeping her with you," Osgood said, "Probably you."  
>"What do you mean?"<br>"You don't have much faith in yourself Kate, you are a lovely person and you are incredibly good-looking."  
>Kate smiled at her and covered the scientists hand in her own,<br>"As are you."

By now, the Rani had been waiting for about three-quarters of an hour and was getting incredibly frustrated and bored. She had contemplated going not he tours of the Tower above, but soon decided that she would rather sit on her own. The tea girl had been round twice and both times she had refused and shut the door in the girls face. She paced Kate's office for a while before sitting again and looking at the room. When she had been in here before, she hadn't had much time to muse over the bare walls and portrait of Kate's father. She scrutinised the desk from where she sat on the seat opposite, deciding it would be rude to go through the stacks of paper on it, she started glaring down at her fingernails. Humans had odd standards of social norms; unacceptable to go through papers, but okay to yell abuse across streets and glare at two girls or men holding hands. On Gallifrey things had been much different, the Rani hadn't really experienced love first-hand there, but being stuck in a room with Theta and Koschei for hours was enough. She found herself reliving old times, like the time Theta had dragged her out of the lab because he thought she was sick and the time Koschei poured custard into Drax's boots; the academy had been good, she had had "friends" there, but she still remembered being cooped up in classrooms of young aristocrats who jeered at her, doing work that was far too simple. That wouldn't happen here, she was a cut above- or just an incredibly arrogant, haughty, senior genius. For someone who hated their pompous race, she was a great deal like them.

The tube back to Tower Bridge was less packed than the one from, but once again Kate found herself stood. It was funny, she often wondered if the people who sat were droids who sat there just to annoy everybody else. They were always there and hardly ever seemed to get off. It was a nightmare trying to get back to the Tower, once they had pushed through the hordes of people, they had quite the time trying to get away from a curious family, as they scanned as discreetly as possible into the private wing, the family were stood staring at them. Just stood, watching.  
>"That was creepy," Osgood said once they had gone through.<br>"Bloody tourists," Kate replied.  
>"Why didn't we go the other way?"<br>"Malcolm was blocking that exit earlier, apparently there is a draught," she said.

A few minutes later, Kate walked into her office, to find the Rani sat at her desk. She walked over to her and gently kissed her.  
>"Stewart," at Kate's glare, she amended, "Kate."<br>"How long have you been here Rani?"  
>"About an hour."<br>"What did you need?"  
>"To see you."<br>"Really?"  
>"Yes."<br>"What's the real reason you waited an hour in here?"  
>"That infernal idiot, he's almost as bad as the Doctor."<br>"Malcolm," Kate sighed.  
>"He tried to block up an exit."<br>"I know, I'm dealing with it."  
>"I'm leaving early today, done my work."<br>"I will too then."  
>"You don't trust me?"<br>"Maybe I want to spend more time with you."  
>"I'm honoured."<br>"Watch it!" Kate warned her.

From where Osgood was in the corridor, she was eavesdropping, smiling at the gentle tones in Kate's voice and the banter going back and forth between the pair. They really did suit each other well- the Rani made up for the lack of arrogance and rudeness, whereas Kate made up for the Rani's lack of community and kindness. Osgood felt honoured that Kate had told her of all people. She heard their footsteps and scurried along, but not before she took a glance at them... the brunettes arm was around Kate's waist and her boss was dreamy-eyed and content. Maybe love in UNIT was a good thing, for the first time ever, Osgood felt like she belonged somewhere.


End file.
